Page 30 of Fall Back
The last few days while I’ve been covering the Fall Festival have been awful. I can’t even remember the number of people who stopped me to ask me about my relationship with Carson like it was any of their business. It’s like now that the entire Burns family is aware that she’s back in town, everyone wants to talk about her arrival and what is going on.
And we thought the rumor mill was broken.
Wrong, it was just delayed and giving my woman some grace. Who knew that was even a possibility?
Well, now everyone wants the scoop and is more than willing to come to me to get the details. Like I would tell them anything other than how we’re happy together.
For some, it’s enough. Others? Not so much.
If they only knew that I already have a ring waiting for my woman to be ready for me to slip it on her finger. Beforeit happens, I’ll head out to Limitless and talk to Clive and Carson’s brothers. While I don’t believe I need their permission, considering Carson is a grown woman who knows her own mind, the Burns men have earned my respect and love over the years. I’m more than willing to show them that by having a conversation before I ask my woman to marry me.
Carson isn’t ready for a proposal yet. She might have gotten there sooner, but with this whole stalker situation coming to light, it’s set her back. The fear in her eyes guts me and I hate how she looks over her shoulder now as if she’s waiting for him to jump out of the shadows and grab her at any moment.
I won’t let that happen.
While I’ve been working the festival, I’ve kept my eyes open for Dave but haven’t seen him. I don’t believe he’s left town.
No, he’s still in town and I’ve been looking for him since the night he had the balls to approach my little criminal.
I won’t let him get that close again and I’ll do whatever I need to do to ensure she’s safe.
Keeping the whole stalker thing from her brothers is for the best. I don’t need them traipsing through town and stirring up trouble. There’s no way I’ll break Carson’s trust in me either. I know how much it took for her to tell me the entire truth about why she left Denver.
I don’t take the responsibility lightly. I revel in it and embrace it.
She trusts me.
Fuck, knowing that does something to me.
Not only does it make me feel ten feet tall, but it makes me want to do whatever I need to do in order to be worthy of her trust. I never want to break it.
As I’ve patrolled Wintervale today, keeping my eyes open for any sign of Dave, I keep coming back to Big Sky Ink and using it as a touchstone. She’s inside there working, and driving by has kept me sane while helping me to feel like I’m keeping her safe.
While I’m circling away from Big Sky, I notice Dave near the Post Office. I slow down and watch him, following him as my stomach clenches when I realize he’s moving towards the tattoo shop. Yeah, that shit is not going to happen. Not on my watch.
I pull my cruiser over and follow him on foot, not giving a fuck if anyone notices what I’m doing. I’m in my uniform, which I do take seriously, but this isn’t about the badge. This is about something bigger—the safety of my woman.
I’m not going to let anyone terrorize her. No fucking way.
When Dave ducks between two shops a street over from Big Sky, my steps quicken, and I don’t hesitate to grip his shoulder and spin him in my direction. At first his eyes widen in surprise. Then he gets a good look at me, and I can see anger simmering in his gaze as his eyes turn flinty with annoyance and frustration.
There’s no doubt in my mind that he knows exactly who I am and what I mean to Carson. Good. He should know.
“How can I help you, Officer?” His voice is slimy and pointed, as if I’ve forgotten about the uniform on my back and what it means.
I haven’t, and his little attempt to remind me about the oath I took is annoying as fuck. Like he isn’t skulking around my townand striking fear into the heart of the one woman who means the world to me. The one woman I love.
I’m more than ready to shout for the entire town to hear about how much I love her, but she’s not ready. She was so fucking close and then this asshole showed up. That knowledge has my fingers tightening on his shoulder to the point he grimaces before I force myself to let go.
“Dave,” I admonish him with a shake of my head and disappointment in my voice, “how about you tell me why you’re in Wintervale?”
“Well, it’s a free country, isn’t it?” He sneers the question, his eyes flashing in challenge and his face smug as if he’s already won this round.
How wrong he is.
“Yes,” I agree before smirking, “and there are a lot of freedoms the people of this town hold dear.” My words are a threat, thinly veiled and completely founded. “Out here, even in a small town, most people know how to defend themselves and their homes. We don’t always take kindly to outsiders. Then to find out they have ill intent?” I make a tsking sound and frown at the man. “It’s not something we take lightly.”
“Are you threatening me?” His voice rises an octave, the whine within the sound making my skin crawl.
